Challenging Destiny
by EmeraldClover89
Summary: Wilbur just can't accept things the they are, but maybe this is how things are supposed to be. ...Currently on hold...


Joyce Williams Elementry was a small, single-story, gray, brick building located in one of the lower-class parts of the city. It wasn't well-known either and they excelled in none of their programs, but the students were passionate about their dreams. In particular, the two dozen or so from the 6th Street Orphanage were most passionate. Michael, who was better known as Goob to his close friends, wanted to be major leauge baseball star. Lewis was an inventor in his own right and frequently lectured on the improvements that could be made in the world.

Anna had several dreams but, for today, she was persuing her dream of being a singer. Her chior director had asked her to sing the national anthem at the opening ceremony for the baseball game that afternoon so she was putting in some extra hours of practice. When she was finally content with her performance, she collected her things and headed over to the gymnasium where the school was hosting the Inventco Science Fair. After a few laps around the room, Anna made her way back to the entrance and stopped next her science teacher, tapping his shoulder.

"Hi, Mr. Willis," she beamed politely with a subcouncious nod of the head, "Have you seen Lewis yet?"

As he went to answer, Anna noticed that his brown hair seemed to be thinning faster than usual and there were circles under his eyes that contrasted his pale complexion. She couldn't help but smile, knowing that it was probably had something to do with all of the prototypes Lewis had been testing over the past few weeks. "Nope," he answered with a quick glance around the room, "I haven't seen him."

"Maybe he's putting the finishing touches on his scanner," Anna thought to herself, rubbing her chin. She suddenly looked up at Mr. Willis with an amused smile, "I'd better make sure he didn't lose track of the time."

"You probably should," he nodded in agreement, "This is the oppertunity of a lifetime. I would hate to see him miss it."

"Me too," she agreed as she started past him, "Alright. I'll be right back."

Once she was out in the hallway, she glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one else was around. Confident she was in solitude, she broke into a light sprint and ran to the double doors at the front of the school. She slowed down a bit and burst through the front entrance just in time to run into her friend.

"Oh!" Anna exclaimed in surprise, brushing her chestnut hair out of her face, "Lewis! I was just going to look for you."

"I know," he said, out of breath, "I'm late."

"It's okay," she reassured him, "The guest judge from Inventco hasn't arrived yet, so they haven't started judging anyone."

"Great," Lewis spoke in acknowledgement, pulling his wagon over the lip of the door while Anna held the door. His invention, which was covered by a large cloth in the wagon, wobbled threateningly and she swiftly propped the door with her foot and stablized it with her hand. He thanked her again and continued into the building with her close behind. She traced her steps back to the gym with Lewis and, when they reached it, followed him to an open table near the back. The whole time, Lewis kept glancing over his shoulder.

"Are you expecting someone?" Anna inquired with an eyebrow raised.

"No," Lewis shook his head, "I thought I saw someone."

He stopped in front of his table and shook his head once more, figuratively clearing his head of his silly thoughts. "Can you help me lift this onto the table?" he asked.

"Sure," Anna nodded, stepping to the opposite side of the invention. The two preteens leaned forward and grabbed the base of the invention. Without removing the cloth, the two lifted the machine up off the wagon and steadied it on the table. She let out a sigh while he wiped his brow and briefly glanced at the rest of the room. Anna followed his gaze right as he turned back and when she did so, she noticed he was gone.

"Where'd he go?" she blinked in confusion, "Lewis?"

When he didn't answer, she assumed he was probably going to grab something. Since it appeared that the panel of judges, which consisted of Mr. Willis, the guest scientist and the gym teacher, were starting on the opposite side of the gym, she decided not to sweat it. She went ahead and rolled the wagon under the table so she could go look at the other projects but, before she got anywhere, Anna heard somebody shout from behind the table, catching her attention.

"Bowler Hat Guy!"

"What?" she questioned, furrowing her brow. She looked over her shoulder back at the table just in time to see a dark-haired boy about her age in jeans and a blue t-shirt jump out from behind the table. He stumbled but picked up speed again as he tackled a large figure. Anna felt her hand go to her lips as the air escaped her. The figure dropped his things and a box of frogs fell from a nearby table, creating quite a scene.

"Oh," she lightly laughed as he stood up, obviously realizing the person he had tackled was not who he expected him to be. Anna watched him as he apologized to the blonde he knocked over while the young girl with the frogs pulled him up off the floor and insisted he get back all her frogs.

"That kid is crazy." Anna looked over to see Lewis had returned.

"Yeah," she chuckled, "Do you know him?"

"Nope," Lewis replied.

Anna let it slide and glanced up at the clock. She still had some time before the game, so she decided to ask Lewis to explain how this final draft of his invention worked while they waited for the judges.

"So you could use it to identify amnesia patients," she suggested before snapping her finger with another idea, "Or, it could be the unltimate lie detector!"

"Well, sure," Lewis shrugged, "I guess it could be, but that's not why I invented it."

"But isn't that what you always say the point of an invention is?" Anna pointed out softly, "To help people or improve something?"

"Yeah," he agreed, "And this one is helping me."

"Lewis, you have to stop living in the past already," she spoke sternly, "There are just some things that we shouldn't know and this is one of them."

"But what if my mom just couldn't keep me?" he disagreed.

"And what if it was something else?" she countered, "What if she didn't want you?"

"Don't say that!" Lewis growled.

"Nobody saw her that day," Anna pointed out, "Obviously, she left you there. If she could take you back, don't you think she would have by now?"

Neither Lewis nor Anna realize what was happening until it was over. Anna was on the floor and Lewis was standing over her with his fist clenched. Some of the students at tables nearby had noticed him push her and were watching intently to see how they would react. A few boys had even taken a step forward, just in case, but still, nobody moved.

Anna couldn't take it anymore. She felt the tears escape from her blue eyes as she got to her feet but she tried to ignore it. With a shudder, she stood slouched in front of him. A sudden awareness overcame Lewis and his mouth opened, but nothing followed. Instead, she spoke.

"No matter how well that invention works, Lewis, it will always be a failure because you use it for selfish intentions," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear. He was once again taken aback as she turned around and, as calmly as she could, made her way toward the exit. With her head down, however, Anna couldn't see where she was going and ran into someone along the way.

"Oops," a familiar voice said as a large frog landed at her feet. She looked up out of curiousity and saw the dark-haired kid kneeling down next to her and scooping up the frog. When he stood up again, she could help but let out a halfhearted chuckle at the three frogs sitting on his head and shoulders. He seemed amused at her reaction but concerned at the same time.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," she assured him, wiping the tears from her eyes and forcing a smile. He stared at her for a long time with his chocolate brown eyes and he almost seemed to buy it when the girl with the frogs grabbed his arm again and dragged him away. She watched, still mesmerized by his stare, as he walked away. She suddenly remembered the time and came back to her senses. Even with everything that had happened, Anna still needed to be at the field in twenty minutes.


End file.
